Transoceanic undersea telecommunications cables are becoming available for re-use by the scientific community. These cables cross vast regions of the floors of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They traverse nearly every type of geomorphic province, including deep ocean basins, ridge systems, oceanic trenches and continental margins; and they underlie most features of ocean dynamics including western and eastern boundary currents, central gyres and areas of fronts and eddies. The workshop will 1) assess scientific needs, opportunities and interest for re-use of cables soon to be abandoned by international telephone companies, 2) develop initial technical models for adding scientific instrumentation, 3) examine ways to manage facilities, experiments and data, and 4) determine cost estimates for scientific use of these systems. The workshop is being held in January 1990 on Oahu in Hawaii where primary shore-based cable facilities for the Pacific are located. The University of Hawaii will provide local support. A seven member science steering committee will ensure balanced representation of the approximately 30 participants anticipated. They will also prepare and publish a full report of the workshop, with conclusions, working papers and recommendations for science planning included, by mid-1990.
